


Seed of Hope

by Lassarina



Series: 2017 Sev and Rina Prompt Extravaganza [3]
Category: Final Fantasy X
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 08:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9483773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lassarina/pseuds/Lassarina
Summary: When the tide is at its lowest ebb, they remember those who are gone.





	

The beach is eerily silent as Yuna follows Lulu and Wakka onto the sand. Most of the village is already here, and the fact that this many people can stand in a space with no sound but the wind and the waves sends shivers down her spine. The sun hovers low on the horizon, turning the water vivid orange. Yuna fights the urge to slip her hand into Lulu's for comfort. She is not a child anymore.

The old priest has to be helped to the edge of the water; he has been fading fast over the last year, and even white magic seems ineffective now. Lulu says there will be a new priest soon. Beneath her lashes, Yuna sneaks a peek at the tall, elegant summoner who glides to a halt beside Lulu, eschewing the place with the priest that she would be within her rights to claim. Lady Ginnem is determined to defeat Sin; then again, any summoner must be. They don't all show it the same way. Yuna remembers her father's hugs and soft farewells, nothing like Lady Ginnem's severe expression. She wonders if Lulu will laugh with Lady Ginnem, as she often has with Yuna, while they journey. She hopes so. The pilgrimage is a serious thing, but that doesn't mean it must be bereft of joy.

Kimahri comes to join them, close enough that Yuna can feel the warmth of him, and it steadies her.

The sun is half beneath the horizon, now, and the priest raises his hands slowly. The acolytes steady him, for he can no longer stand without his cane. His voice is not as strong as once it was, but she hears him clearly when he begins the Hymn of the Faith. All around her, people raise their voices in song as the water retreats more after each wave. Soon, the caskets come into view.

Besaid has been lucky, and her father's Calm was long; there are few caskets in the water, just those fallen to illness or injury. The caskets from the last time Sin raged have drifted away on the tides or been buried beneath the sand. Lady Ginnem does not dance, just sings with the rest of them, for these were Sent years ago, and the pyreflies are long since gone. Yuna's eyes sting as she watches the waves withdraw.

It is a long ceremony, longer than most of Yevon. They stand there as the darkness falls. Lulu lights the torches with a flick of her fingers, sparks leaping from one to the next to ignite them all. Yuna's throat aches from the lengthy song, but she stands with the rest until the tide flows back in and covers the caskets.

The song ends, and Yuna wipes away the tracks of tears on her face. Kimahri rests an enormous paw on her shoulder, and she leans into him for comfort. The silence falls again, one of exhaustion now and not reverence, though that is there too.

Lady Ginnem leads them off the beach, and Yuna looks up at the darkened moon, domain of the Besaid Temple aeon, and offers a silent prayer that this time, Sin will fall; this time, there will be no need for a summoner to dance over Besaid's waters.

She nourishes that seed of hope all the way back to her tent.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "mean low water."


End file.
